Estimating soybean yields may be more critical this year than in the recent past. Late season rains have allowed many fields to turn a corner with pod retention, pod development, and now, seed fill. Drought-stressed fields tend to be short this season, but the yield potential could be close to normal. For instance, I estimated yield of 20 bu/ac in a field of 20-inch tall soybeans, but 10 miles down the road 24-inch tall soybeans were heavily podded with an estimate of 40 bu/ac. This simplified approach to estimating soybean yields allows you the flexibility of scouting multiple areas quickly while observing any late season stressors such as bean leaf beetle feeding on pods. The video describes the simplified approach to estimating soybean yields and additional information can be found at: https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/soybean/News/2012/2012_0814SOYSimplifiedYieldEstimates.pdf. Please note that estimating soybean yield can begin after R5 (beginning seed, ~35 days away from R7) and the accuracy will improve as you scout fields that are into R6 (full seed, ~20 days from R7).
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